


darkness will be rewritten

by BananasofThorns



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Caring Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Techno tells Ranboo that it's okay to not be involved, The Egg (mentioned), let Ranboo be happy and uninvolved 2k21, they care about each other your honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:54:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29440056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BananasofThorns/pseuds/BananasofThorns
Summary: Techno finds out that Ranboo's put it upon himself to fix the entire server's issues. He...isn't pleased, and as Ranboo's mentor, he decides to stage an intervention. Someone on this server needs to tell the kids that it's okay to be kids.
Relationships: Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 632





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [title from I'll Keep You Safe - Sleeping At Last]
> 
> Ranboo has main character syndrome in that he thinks it's his responsibility to fix everything and. I just want him to be happy p l e a s e. please someone tell him it's not his duty to fix everything

Techno stares at the signs on the wall in Ranboo’s house, bitterness curling on his tongue as the voices scream indignantly.

 _Plans,_ the wall is titled. Then, beneath that: _Find a way to not get hurt. Find a way to stop conflict. Figure out how to be happy._

The voices crescendo as he stares at that fourth sign. Ranboo is very good at acting like he’s okay - scarily good, if Techno’s honest - but there have been times when he’s been...off. Like when he’d been briefly trapped with the egg, or when he told Techno about the voice in his head, or the times when he stays in the cabin and wakes up from a nightmare sobbing before he realizes he’s not the only one awake. _Figure out how to be happy,_ Techno reads again, and clenches his fist.

He looks at the next sign. _Figure out why the same things keep happening. Figure out how to stop them from happening, and how to stop them from happening again. Find my friends again._ And, finally, underlined: _Make peace._

“What the fuck,” Techno mutters. 

The voices shout over each other, most of their words barely audible, but their point is the same: Ranboo is young. Ranboo is a _kid._ Techno doesn’t know his whole backstory, just that he grew up on Hypixel and learned how to fight young, but...he’s barely older than Tubbo and Tommy. And Techno may be against the two of them, and he may have tried to kill them both multiple times, but at the end of the day, they’re kids. So is Ranboo.

Techno can’t undo what he’s done to Tommy and Tubbo, and he can’t help them heal, but...he’s supposed to be Ranboo’s mentor. He can’t just let this slide, can’t just pretend he hadn’t seen the signs he probably wasn’t supposed to. The voices agree.

“Hey, Ranboo?” He calls, turning and walking halfway back down the stairs.

Ranboo pokes his head up the ladder to his basement, crown slightly askew. “Yeah?”

“What’s, uh...what’s with these signs up here?”

Ranboo freezes, face closing off and eyes darkening before he smiles, just a bit too wide. “Oh! It’s, um, my plans. For...the future, I guess. I can explain them to you, if you want?”

“Yeah,” Techno agrees slowly, watching Ranboo and how he carefully forces any emotion off his face. “That’d be nice.”

Ranboo swallows, pulling himself fully up the ladder. It only takes him a few strides to reach the stairs and Techno leads the way up. Ranboo follows robotically, shoulders hunched despite the tall ceiling when he stops in front of the signs. Techno resists the urge to reach up and straighten his crown and instead raises an expectant eyebrow.

“Well?”

“Um, well,” Ranboo taps the first sign, the one that says _‘find a way to not get hurt,’_ “I tried to destroy the Egg. A few days ago. I went back to it after we left. And it, uh...I can’t destroy it. Without getting hurt.”

He pushes his sleeves up to his elbows and pulls off his fingerless gloves, revealing crimson welts that curl up his arms and across his palms like vines. They look painful, and Techno’s not sure if they’ve begun to heal at all, even though Ranboo said it’s been days.

“Did you try a health or regen potion for that?” Techno asks.

Ranboo chuckles humorlessly, covering the welts back up. “Yeah. Didn’t work. So now I need to find a way to destroy the Egg without _this_ happening” —he waves his hands— “because it hurts. Like, a lot, and I’m kind of worried about the fact that the marks haven’t faded, but they’re also not spreading? So? It’s probably fine as long as I don’t provoke the Egg again before I know I’ll be safe. So that’s why I have that sign.”

“Got it. Makes sense,” Techno agrees. He gestures to the signs that say _‘find a way to stop conflict,’ ‘figure out how to stop them from happening,’_ and _‘make peace.’_ “What about these?”

“Oh.” Ranboo swallows, fiddling with the hem of his cloak. “History just...keeps repeating itself, y’know? People keep choosing sides, getting into conflict, and I don’t— I don’t want that to keep happening. So I figured...I could stop that, right? I don’t like being on sides, choosing a side, but. If I was on _everyone’s_ side, then it would kind of cancel out, you know? And I could be the mediator. I could stop the conflict from happening, or if it does, I could stop it from going too far. I could stop people from having to be hurt again, and again, and again.”

His voice rises as he speaks, eyes flashing with determination. Techno digs his nails into his palm, hand behind his back so Ranboo can’t see, and fights the urge to kill whoever made this kid think it was his responsibility and his alone to fix the entire world’s problems. Some of the voices whisper for blood, others for him to comfort Ranboo, and for now, he can only indulge the latter.

“Ranboo,” he starts, doing his best to be gentle as he searches for the right words, “that’s...that’s a _lot_ of work, you know that, right?”

Ranboo straightens defensively. “I can do it.”

“Just because you _can_ doesn’t mean you _should._ ”

“I _have_ to do it,” Ranboo corrects, voice hard. “More people are going to get unnecessarily hurt if I don’t. I don’t want that. I can’t let that keep happening.”

Techno crosses his arms. “Just because you’re the main character doesn’t mean you have to solve everyone’s problems on your own.”

“I’m not—”

“That is literally exactly what you’re doin’.” Techno points to the signs. “Look at those and tell me that’s not what you’re doin’.”

“I’m...I don’t want history to repeat itself again,” Ranboo mutters, staring at the ground. “I don’t want people to get hurt again.”

“Dude, this is like...the calmest this world’s ever been, comparatively speakin’. I mean, besides the whole egg cult thing, but I think Puffy and Sam are takin’ care of that? I dunno. I might help ‘em if I get bored or somethin’. But anyway. Besides the Egg, name one big problem that’s happenin’ right now.”

“Um.” Ranboo pauses, eyes going distant for a moment. “Not...nothing. That I know of, at least. Tubbo’s done making nukes, I’m pretty sure, so.”

Techno did not know Tubbo had been making nukes in the first place. What the fuck? Who decided a seventeen-year-old should have that much power? He doesn’t ask who _let_ a seventeen-year-old get that much power because, after everything, he’s pretty sure Tubbo wouldn’t allow anyone to tell him what he can or can’t do.

“And I’ve still got that whole enderwalk thing,” Ranboo continues.

Techno blinks. “The what?”

“It’s, uh, kind of like sleepwalking, I guess? I go into an enderman-like state and I don’t remember anything that happens and I...I think I might do bad things during it. But I don’t know, because I can’t— I can’t remember.” Ranboo scoffs.

The voices are shouting about Dream and smiles and the prison. Techno frowns and focuses back on the task at hand; he can worry about all those implications later.

“Right. Okay then. That sounds like...a pretty big thing to deal with, I’m not gonna lie to you.”

“Eh. It’s fine.”

Techno raises an eyebrow and fixes Ranboo with the most deadpan look he can muster. “Sure,” he says, drawing out the word. “Anyway. My point still stands: the Egg is really the only main issue that’s goin’ on right now, and people are already dealin’ with that. Didn’t you say you didn’t want to be involved?”

Ranboo stares harder at the ground, fingers curled tight into the fabric of his cloak. “...yeah. I did.”

“So don’t get involved! You’re, what, sixteen? Seventeen?”

“Somewhere around there. I don’t...I don’t really remember.”

Ranboo curls further into himself and Techno sighs. The voices are yelling at him for making the kid feel worse, but they’re also not exactly offering any help, so he ignores them.

“But you’re young,” he concludes. “Let the adults take care of their own problems, okay? You’re already dealing with your own shit, you don’t need to fix their issues, too.” He swallows, then carefully adds, “When was the last time you let yourself relax, Ranboo?”

Ranboo stares at him, eyes wide. “Um.” He looks away, back towards the signs. “I don’t...I mean, Fundy or Niki or Tubbo and I used to mess around, sometimes. When they weren’t busy with their jobs or whatever else they needed to worry about. And I haven’t been as involved since I’ve moved out here, so that’s...been better.”

“Right,” Techno says slowly. “Not as involved.”

He looks pointedly at the signs.

“I can’t just stand by and let people get hurt again!” Ranboo snaps. “They’ve already been through enough.”

“And you haven’t?”

Ranboo freezes, eyes wide and startled. Techno stares him down but doesn’t make eye contact; he knows it makes the kid uncomfortable.

“Oh,” Ranboo finally mutters. Techno snorts.

“Yeah, ‘oh’. That’s what I thought.” Techno gestures to the signs again. “Let other people deal with the Egg. You’ve got your own shit to deal with. If you somehow get involved in this - _not_ of your own accord, do not do that - just. Come to me. I’ll help you.”

“Oh,” Ranboo repeats softly. “I...okay. Thank you, Techno.”

“Don’t mention it.” Techno sighs, then continues when Ranboo doesn’t say anything else, “Alright, that’s enough emotion talk for the day. Come on.”

Ranboo laughs, following him downstairs and out into the snow. “I— yeah. Where are we going?”

“Cabin. I figured we could use some hot chocolate or something after all those,” he gags exaggeratedly, “ _emotions._ ”

Ranboo snorts, shoulders shaking as he laughs. Before he can stop himself, Techno reaches up and nudges the crown back into place. Ranboo freezes, blinking down at him.

“What?”

“Your crown was crooked,” Techno grunts, looking pointedly at the horizon. “It looked stupid.”

“Right, of course. That makes sense.”

Techno can practically hear Ranboo’s smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second chapter should be up later today or tomorrow!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added this entire chapter's plot point just so I could make blood god Techno an actual thing lmao. I have a lot of thoughts about Blood God Techno and the Egg (and Ranboo) so I might write more w that but uh. don't hold me to that

Techno watches out of the corner of his eye as Ranboo gingerly holds his mug, sipping at the hot cocoa with a distant look in his eyes, his face ever so slightly scrunched up. It takes Techno a moment to realize what’s wrong, but the voices certainly help, what with their shouting about the Egg and its destruction - or lack thereof. _Shit,_ he thinks, setting down his own mug as he turns to face Ranboo fully.

“How’re your hands doin’?”

Ranboo blinks. “What? Oh.” He glances down at his arms. “They’re fine.”

“Those welts don’t hurt?” Techno asks skeptically. Ranboo’s certainly holding his mug - with his fingertips, away from his palms - like they do.

“It’s fine, they’re not that bad. I’m used to it.”

Techno rolls his eyes. “Let me see them again?”

Ranboo sighs and sets his mug down on the coffee table. He rolls his sleeves up and gingerly pulls off his gloves, baring the crimson welts. They almost seem to shimmer in the warm light from the fire, and Techno suddenly gets the sense that they are less like wounds and more like brands. A warning, a claim, and a target on Ranboo’s back. He grimaces.

“C’mere.”

He stands and walks to the fireplace. Ranboo trails behind him, eyebrows scrunched. Techno turns to him and points at his hands.

“Let me see.”

“Okay?”

Ranboo holds out his arm and Techno takes it as gently as he can, careful to not aggravate the crimson lines. When he brushes a finger over the brand curling around Ranboo’s left forearm, there’s an almost-familiar thrum of power. Ranboo doesn’t seem to notice, but the voices all rise in unison. _Blood for the Blood God,_ they shout, and Techno smiles _._

“I’m gonna try somethin’ weird.”

“Okay?” Ranboo says again. He looks up and blinks, recoiling ever so slightly. “Why are your eyes, um. Glowing?”

“Are they?”

The voices cackle. Ranboo nods.

“Mhm! Just a...just a bit.”

Techno shrugs. “They do that.” Smile sharpening, he adds, “Blood for the Blood God, you know?”

“Oh.”

For some reason, Ranboo relaxes at that instead of tensing even further. Techno raises an eyebrow and files that away to analyze at a later date as he cups Ranboo’s forearm in his hands, drawing on his magic. The Egg’s power fights him, hissing unintelligibly, and both Techno and the voices snarl back at it. Ranboo winces.

“What—”

He cuts himself off with a quickly-muffled shout of pain as Techno draws his hands away, swirling crimson energy cupped in his palm. The Egg’s fury fades from his mind; its power is nothing to him. Nothing to a god. He drops the dark, bloody magic into the fireplace and watches the flames flare red.

“Well, that was easy. Okay, give me your other arm.”

“ _What,”_ Ranboo repeats, staring between Techno, the fireplace, and his newly unblemished skin, “the heck was that?”

“Blood for the Blood God,” Techno says with a grin, echoing the voices. “Egg really thought I wouldn’t notice its marks on you.” He snorts. “What a loser.”

“I am so confused right now,” Ranboo mutters.

“Give me your other arm. I don’t think it’ll hurt as much this time? Anyway,” Techno explains as he repeats the process. “I noticed something was up with the marks it left on you when you tried to destroy it; it’s a brand, of sorts, to claim you as its own. Or, well, it was.”

He drops the second ball of crimson into the fire. Ranboo stares into the flames, rubbing at his forearms.

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

Techno snorts. “Yeah, it wouldn’t have been fun for you if you went back there. I got rid of the magic it left in you, though, so you should be good. Probably. Maybe don’t visit the Egg again unless I’m with you.”

“Right, that makes sense,” Ranboo says slowly, head tilted. “So, the ‘blood for the Blood God’ thing—”

“Isn’t just a saying,” Techno agrees. 

Maybe he shouldn’t just admit his godhood like that, but...he doesn’t think Ranboo will do anything malicious with the knowledge. The voices murmur in agreement.

“Huh,” Ranboo mutters. “Okay.” 

After a pause, he adds, “Thank you, Techno. Seriously. For getting rid of the brand, or the magic, or whatever, and for making me realize that I don’t— that it’s okay if I don’t get involved. And for helping me get away from the Egg a few days ago, and for protecting me from Bad, and for...just, everything, I guess. So, um. Thank you.”

Techno blinks, momentarily stunned by the unexpected wave of gratitude. “Uh...yeah, no problem, man. It’s, like...the least I could do. As your sensei.”

“Of course, of course.” Ranboo nods, lips curling into a soft smile. “As my sensei.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! comments and kudos are greatly appreciated 💛💛
> 
> Also, in case anything in this chapter was confusing (hopefully this makes it clearer):  
> When Ranboo tried to destroy the Egg, it magically left brands on his hands and forearms; the markings are reminiscent of the blood vines' appearance, kind of. They basically mark Ranboo as the Egg's and make it so that he'll have even more trouble trying to hurt it (or its vines) or resisting its sway once he returns to the SMP main. Techno noticed and, when he touched the brands, recognized the Egg's power. The Egg recognized him, too, and tried to fight back, but they were too far away to for it to have much power and so he destroyed it easily because blood vines blood god yada yada you know what I mean right


End file.
